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China PM ally Wang Qishan to handle Sino-US ties

China's parliament appointed Wang Qishan as vice president during the plenary session of the National People's Congress, the Financial Times reported.

Wang, a former vice premier and point person for China-U.S. relations during the 2008 global financial crisis, will help manage China's relations with the U.S., people briefed on the leadership changes told the newspaper.

The 69-year-old is known for his extensive U.S. contacts, which he developed when he was chairman of state-owned China Construction Bank in the 1990s, the FT said.

Wang's appointment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration looks to potentially impose $30 billion in tariffs on Chinese products in response to alleged theft and forced transfers of U.S. intellectual property and technologies to Beijing from U.S. firms operating in China.

Wang also has a track record in managing domestic issues, such as the SARS outbreak in early 2003 as mayor of Beijing, and in leading China President Xi Jinping's anticorruption campaign that began in 2012.

Premier Li Keqiang was reappointed for a second term, while Liu He, Xi's economic adviser, has been named one of China's four vice premiers and will be in charge of economic policies and financial issues, said BBC News. The parliament also named Yi Gang as the next central bank chief, and is expected to approve the nomination March 19.